AP Interview: Libya PM says UN-backed unity deal unworkable

Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at the Libyan embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Al-Thinni of the interim government based in the eastern region, told The Associated Press that the UN-brokered deal has reached a deadlock. The deal must be amended, he said. Libyan flag seen at background. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
(The Associated Press)

Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at the Libyan embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Al-Thinni of the interim government based in the eastern region, told The Associated Press that the UN-brokered deal has reached a deadlock. The deal must be amended, he said. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
(The Associated Press)

Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at the Libyan embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Al-Thinni of the interim government based in the eastern region, told The Associated Press that the UN-brokered deal has reached a deadlock. The deal must be amended, he said. Libyan flag seen at background.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
(The Associated Press)

CAIRO – Libya's prime minister says the United Nations is trying to impose an unworkable agreement on the country's various factions that is "screwing up" the political process and will never be accepted by parliament.

Abdullah al-Thinni is the head of an interim government based in eastern Libya that answers to its internationally recognized parliament. The assembly has rejected a U.N.-brokered unity government based in the capital, Tripoli.

Al-Thinni told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the two sides are deadlocked and a new U.N. initiative is underway to mend the agreement.

Western nations have rallied behind the unity government, hoping it can unify Libyan forces against an Islamic State affiliate and other extremist groups.